As I visit schools, I have found that some students have a surprising misconception. They think Daylight Saving Time results in more daylight hours. I suppose this comes about as they notice that sunset occurs an hour later. But Daylight Saving Time shifts both sunrise and sunset times. So, we experience the same amount of daylight before and after Daylight Saving Time.

Well, almost . . .

A close look at sunrise and sunset times for Salt Lake City on March 13 and 14, 2010 reveals that March 14 has 2 minutes more daylight than March 13.

Saturday, March 13, 2010         Mountain Standard Time
Sunrise                    6:42 a.m.
Sunset                     6:32 p.m.
Sunday, March 14, 2010         Mountain Daylight Time
Sunrise                    7:41 a.m.
Sunset                     7:33 p.m.

This is NOT the result of Daylight Saving Time. Instead, it comes about as Earth orbits the Sun. Earth rotates on its axis once a day. Earth also orbits, or revolves around the Sun once each year. Earth’s rotational axis is tilted by about 23.4º and points in a nearly constant direction as Earth circles the Sun. This is evidenced by the northern axis pointing toward Polaris, the North Star.

Diagram of Earth's orbit around the Sun.

While the axis continues to point in the same direction, it’s orientation to the Sun changes. Back on December 21, Earth was at the place in its orbit where the northern axis leans most away from the Sun. On this day, Salt Lake City experiences about 9 hours of daylight. As Earth continues to move around the Sun, the angle between the axis and the Sun decreases. This results in an increase in the hours of daylight. This continues until June 21, when Earth reaches the place in its orbit where the northern axis leans most toward the Sun. On that day, Salt Lake City will experience about 15 hours of daylight.

Earth will continue in its orbit and eventually Daylight Saving Time will end with a 25 hour day on November 7, 2010.

Change your view of our Universe with Hubble 3D

To promote the latest IMAX film, HUBBLE 3D, Clark Planetarium will host a Hubble Observation Day on Saturday, March 20. Guests visiting the planetarium can participate in free activities including the following:

• A  “Sphere-cast” featuring images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope displayed on Clark Planetarium’s innovative Science on a Sphere exhibit – with commentary on the images provided by Clark Planetarium Education Specialist, Rob Morris.
• Samples of real “space food” that astronauts enjoy during space flights.
• A Hubble 3D poster and Night Vision ticket for the first 300 people who come to see the show.

Hubble 3D offers an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlights its profound impact on the way we now view the universe. The show allows viewers to accompany spacewalking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important task in NASA history.

Date: March 20, 2010

Time: Event activities from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. are FREE

Pricing: Movie tickets are $6 – 8

BuckyBalls are a really cool desktop toy that provide endless entertainment.

BuckyBalls: “The Amazing Magnetic Desk Toy You Can’t Put Down.” BuckyBalls are powerful rare earth magnets (216 per package!) that can be shaped, molded, torn apart, and snapped together in UNLIMITED ways. Make sculptures, puzzles, patterns, shapes, stick stuff to the fridge or even invent a new game! The staff here at Planet Fun was dubious about BuckyBalls at first, but now that they have tried them I can’t keep them from playing with them. It’s like they’re zombies! This is the hottest toy on the scene right now! Get your BuckyBalls today for just $29.95.

The new Hexbug Crab.

Hexbug Nano & Hexbug Ant: The two newest items from the Hexbug line are extra fun! The Nano is a cool little dude that skitters around like a cockroach! (only cleaner!) He is the lowest price Hexbug at $11.95. The Ant is this reviewer’s personal favorite. It has wheel type action instead of legs, so it really moves! Hexbug Ant senses if it runs into something and will back up until it’s sensor contacts an object, then it will move forward. Tons of fun for just $13.95.

The other morning I noticed that, as I’m facing south, Scorpius is nice and bright and easy to spot. Now, according to tradition, I’m ‘a Scorpio,’ but that discussion will have to wait [tease, tease].

Looking south at 6:30 AM, MST, from the Salt Lake valley area

Scorpius is usually thought of as a summer or autumn constellation, when it is visible in the warm, evening skies after sundown. But, the sky we see at night in August is the sky we see pre-dawn in February. And so it is with Scorpius. The familiar fish hook, or ‘J-shape’ of Scorpius is dominated by the bright red star Antares.

Zoomed in view showing Antares and M4

Antares is a respectably bright magnitude +1 star about 600 light years away. Antares is a huge red giant star, so big, in fact, that if it were placed at the center of our solar system, its outer edge would lie about halfway between Mars and Jupiter (in the asteroid belt). Its size is 750 or so times the diameter of our sun, but only 15 times as massive, making Antares a very low-density star. Indications are that this is a star near the end of its life and would probably go supernova in the astronomically-speaker near future. Antares is also very close to the ecliptic.  With it’s brightness, location and brilliant red color, Antares can easily be mistaken for the planet Mars. In fact, the name Antares means ‘like Mars.’ Mars will be approaching Antares later this year (October), but the two will quickly be lost in the sunlight as the Sun passes by Antares in late-November to early-December.

About 1.5 degrees to the right of Antares is a star cluster, M4, known as the ‘Cat’s Eye’ cluster. This cluster is easily visible with binoculars or a small telescope at magnitude +7.5. M4 is only 7200 light years away from us, making it one of the closest clusters to the solar system.

Antares and M4 are due south around 6:30 a.m. right now, and well worth a look.

A detailed look at the evil pirate ship in Attack of the Space Pirates

Attack of the Space Pirates is that show.  It’s a 35-minute feature designed to keep children and adults engaged and entertained as they experience a wild ride through the galaxy on a journey with all of the great sci-fi story elements: mystery, conflict, intrigue, fun, ingenuity, battle, hope and discovery.  It’s our most ambitious digital dome cinema project to date, including amazing sound effects by George Lucas’ Skywalker Sound.

Join the crew of the Starship Intrepid and travel through hyperspace to visit real destinations. You’ll encounter supergiant stars, rogue planets, a black hole and more in your quest to find and assemble a wormhole generator. On your journey, you’ll use real science to help solve the numerous challenges thrown your way. If you survive the dangers of space, a band of pirates will be waiting to take what is yours.  You’ve never experienced an immersive adventure like this!

Bring your family with showings daily.  Visit our website for  more details, the show trailer and show times!

Mars is at its brightest during its opposition in late January.

The planets are also putting on a good show for us over the next few months.  Mars is almost exactly opposite the sun in the sky, meaning that it is at its brightest.  Mars is the reddish star just to the east of Orion.  Saturn is also visible low in the eastern sky late in the evenings.  The rings are still pointing mostly towards us, but are visible as a thin band around the planet.  If you are an early riser, you can find Saturn in the western sky.  Unfortunately, the other visible planets (Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter) are all near the Sun for the next few months, with Jupiter only moving far enough away to be seen as we get into Spring.

We know it is still cold, but that makes the air crisp and steady which helps for nighttime viewing.  The evenings get darker soon, and many times, it is dark out when we are getting home from work or school.  So take a few minutes to look up and enjoy the beautiful skies of winter.

This new show will be a rip-roaring space adventure – the planetarium’s first original astronomy education production incorporating good guys vs. bad guys, blazing lasers and a desperate pursuit among the stars in a do-or-die race to save the galaxy.

We’ve stopped short of sporting eye patches and parrots on our shoulders as we open this show, but we want you to know that high adventure awaits in our Hansen Dome Theatre.

Across the hall in the ATK IMAX Theatre, we’ll be featuring a different kind of space adventure with the opening of Hubble 3D.  Last May NASA astronauts made a visit to the Hubble Space Telescope to give it a major, and final, series of repairs and upgrades.  The Hubble Space Telescope has been accurately described as the single most productive scientific instrument in history.  The list of profound astronomical discoveries made using Hubble is too long to mention in this newsletter.  Trust me, the discoveries made using Hubble are hugely significant to astronomy.  The modifications made to the telescope last year have given this magnificent instrument an additional decade of useful life while at the same time making it roughly ten times more powerful than the Hubble Telescope was when it was first launched twenty years ago.  A 3D IMAX camera was aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis and captured astonishing high-resolution 3D footage of the work performed on the telescope as astronauts ingeniously employed technology and muscle-power to give Hubble a fresh lease on life.  Do NOT miss this movie!

- Seth

Kepler was launched on March 7, 2009 to monitor over 145,000 stars in the constellation Cygnus. Analysis of fluctuations the brightness of these stars will help identify extrasolar planets and determine how many Earth-sized planets are in or near the habitable zone of their star.

Dr. Steffen will discuss the technology and science of the Kepler mission and explain how the mission helps to address questions about how our Earth fits among the population of planets in our galaxy. He will also explain how Kepler’s findings will pave the way for future research missions to look for signs of life on other planets. Following his presentation, audiences will see Extreme Planets, an original Clark Planetarium production, featuring the composition and significance of extrasolar planets to the field of astronomy.

Dr. Steffen currently resides in Illinois, but has lived in Utah. He graduated from Weber State University in 2000 and returns to the area for visits. “Since I have a connection to the Wasatch Front, I’m glad to have the 
opportunity to present this information to the residents of Salt Lake 
City. Most of the scientific community that studies exoplanets is located 
on the coasts and near major observatories.  This will be an 
opportunity for residents to hear what is happening in an important field that has fewer direct ties to Utah,” he said.

“The discovery of other Earth-like planets in our galaxy is a fascinating topic of discussion,” said Clark Planetarium Director, Seth Jarvis. “We’re delighted to offer the public an opportunity to learn about Kepler’s findings first-hand from someone who is directly involved at the cutting edge of this research.”

Clark Planetarium’s mission is to create and present stimulating educational programs that effectively share astronomy and space exploration information with Salt Lake County residents, Utah students, educators and families and visitors from around the country and the world. Additional information on this event can be found on the Clark Planetarium website.

Tickets are $1 at the planetarium’s ticket desk or $2 online.

Due to the technical nature of this presentation, it is not recommended that children under 8 years of age attend.

Date: Feb. 8, 2010

Time: 7 – 9 p.m.

Location: Hansen Dome Theatre

The tradition is simple: We watch the local groundhog and see if it will see its shadow or not. If the groundhog sees its shadow, then it will be scared, run back into its hole and we have to endure 6 more weeks of winter. If the groundhog does not see its shadow, then it will stay outside and we can expect an early spring.

The reasoning is also simple: If the weather on Groundhog Day is bright and sunny, then it is a nice day, we feel good, and don’t care too much that spring officially begins in about 6 weeks–the spring equinox. If the weather on Groundhog Day is grey and gloomy, then we laboriously plod through the day and hope for an early end to the doldrums of continued winter.

There are several weather-related origins to Groundhog Day that have included bears and badgers predicting the weather. Celtic tradition refers to the day as Imbolc, and uses a serpent as its weather prognosticator. Groundhog Day is also known in Christian tradition as Candlemas, and celebrates the purification of Mary and the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple 40 days after his Christmas birth.

Mars reaches opposition on January 29th. At that time, Mars will be on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun (or, alternatively, Earth will be exactly between Sun and Mars). This happens once every 26 months, simply because of the different orbital speeds of the two planets. Earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the Sun; Mars takes 687 days (1.88 Earth years). Mars will also be at its closest approach to Earth: 99.33 million kilometers (61.5 million miles) on the 27th. A natural result of this is that Mars is very bright in our current night time sky, at magnitude -1, brightening to -1.2 at opposition.

NOTE: to prepare you for my comments below, we measure how far apart objects in the sky appear to be from each other by using angular separation, a measurement in degrees. A simple way to visualize this measurement is to make a fist and extend your arm fully out in front of you (don’t hit anybody!). Your fist covers about 10 degrees of angular separation.

Mars, Regulus, M44 Jan. 11

Mars is leaving Leo and moving into Cancer, with the bright star of Leo, Regulus, 14 degrees eastward, and the Beehive Cluster in Cancer, M44, 9 degrees westward. This week (1/11 – 1/17), Mars is due south between 2:00 and 2:30 am, MST, so it’s easy to spot rising in the east after sunset, or high in the southwest before sunrise. As Mars moves along its orbit, it is approaching the Beehive Cluster. By month’s end, Mars will be within 5 degrees of the Beehive.

Mars, Regulus, M44, Jan. 29th

The Beehive Cluster is a bright open cluster (mag. +4) that is visible to the unaided eye under clear, dark skies. The cluster of a couple hundred stars is best seen with binoculars or a telescope under low power. A waxing Moon the last week of the month will wash out the view of the Beehive, and Full Moon on the night of the 29th will only be 5 degrees away.

New Moon is on January 15th, and there is an annular solar eclipse associated with this new moon, though visible only in the eastern hemisphere. The next solar eclipse visible from Utah and the southwestern US will be on May 20th, 2012.